Brought to you by Seahorse magazine, Scuttlebutt Europe is a digest of sailing news and opinions, regatta results, new boat and gear information and letters from sailors -- with a European emphasis. Contributions welcome, send to

The trades beckon for RORC Transatlantic Race leaders The battle between the multihulls has entered another phase, with both Giovanni Soldini's Maserati Multi 70 and Peter Cunningham's MOD70 PowerPlay crossing the rhumb line at sundown on day two. As dawn broke on the third day of the RORC Transatlantic Race, the two duelling trimarans tacked south. However, Maserati chose to take a hotter angle to the northwesterly breeze, whilst PowerPlay was heading downwind. The main objective for both was to escape their area of high pressure to the solid 20 knots of wind that awaits them; the difference in opinion will play out today. At 0830 UTC on day three both boats were ramping up the boat speed, preparing for the downwind sleigh ride to come.

News in from the Class40 Division confirms a great battle between Catherine Pourre's Eärendil and Henrik Bergesen's Hydra: "The first 24 hours have been a little uncomfortable upwind in 12 to 16 knots and we took a reef in during the night," commented Catherine Pourre. "All-in-all it was okay in terms of speed as we managed to recover from our not-so-good start. We passed Hydra upwind when it was a bit stronger. They did a good job afterwards as they stayed close and we have been match racing. It is fun really and we are enjoying it immensely on board as we managed to stay a bit ahead of them, staying between them and the islands to the south."

At 0830 UTC on Day Three of the RORC Transatlantic Race, Eärendil had pulled three miles ahead of Hydra. Stephane Bry's French-Finnish team racing Sirius was 27 miles behind the leader.

In the IRC fleet, My Song was leading on the water by 53 miles from Franco Niggeler's Swiss Cookson 50 Kuka3, which pulled off a great strategic call last night. Kuka3 passed very close to the south side of El Hierro reaching a speed of over 8 knots; presumably after picking up land breeze emanating from the islands 1,500 metre high peak. Trevor Middleton's British Sun Fast 3600 Black Sheep is going well. The team saw significant gains yesterday by staying in the pressure to the north of the fleet, and on the third day of racing the high pressure ridge has moved north, giving the smallest boat in the race more wind to head south to the full trade winds.

Maiden yacht re-starts sail to India after repairs The famed racing yacht Maiden has re-started its round-the-world tour following repairs.

The yacht's crew had to pause the first leg of their tour from Hamble to Kerala in India after just 36 hours when a number of issues were found onboard.

The all-female crew, who had sailed to Plymouth for repairs, resumed the first leg of their 54,000-mile voyage on Saturday.Maiden is reported to be currently heading to the Gibraltar Straits. A statement posted online said the "skipper and crew were all well and delighted to be on their way".

Tracy Edwards said: "It was always expected that there would be some teething problems on the first heavy weather sail. We were glad we had found the issues now rather than later."

Maiden set sail on 7 November as part of "The Maiden Factor" campaign to promote girls' education. The yacht and its crew are expected to call at 22 destinations over two years on a global campaign to promote girls' education.The crew are sailing with a baton which is filled with messages of hope and encouragement written by pupils from the UK to girls around the world who are unable to access an education. The notes are being carried on Maiden in the baton to each stopover, then children's messages will be added in each country and passed on to the next one - like a relay.

Led by Tracy Edwards, Maiden made history in 1990 when its female crew became the first to sail the Whitbread Round the World Race.

The team won two legs of the race and crossed the finish line second overall.

The 58ft (17m) boat was sold shortly after the race and was found in disrepair in recent years in Mahe, Seychelles, before being taken for a refit in Hampshire.

The project is being supported by Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan in memory of her father, King Hussein I.

You're Invited! St. Thomas International Regatta - March 22-24, 2019 Sailing to the Caribbean this season on the Route de Rhum or RORC Transatlantic Race, or the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, Caribbean 1500, Salty Dawg Fall Rally to the Caribbean, or North Atlantic Rally to the Caribbean? We invite you to race with us in the St. Thomas International Regatta (STIR).

This 'Crown Jewel of Caribbean Yacht Racing' offers something for everyone. STIR 2019 offers classes for CSA (Caribbean Sailing Association-handicap rule) Racing, Cruising and Bareboats; Large Multihulls; Beach Cats and One-Design over 20-foot LOA. The one-design IC 24's may be the largest one-design fleet of any Caribbean regatta! Charter an IC24 from the St. Thomas Sailing Center ($2200 for boat with good sails; $2700 with new sails; (stsc.styc.club) for the 3-day STIR, practice day and 30-day Bluewater Membership at the regatta host, St. Thomas Yacht Club (STYC).

Early bird entrants can win customized long-sleeve high-performance team shirts! Register at stthomasinternationalregatta.com and the name of your vessel may be randomly drawn to win this prize. Drawings take place on November 30 and December 31. There's an early entry discount too! Pay US $150 until January 31, 2019. Entry fees increase to US $300 between February 1 and March 20, 2019. Registration for IC24s: US $200, Beach Cats: $200.

World-class racing, the chance to trade tacks with America's Cup, Volvo Ocean and Olympic crews on the water and off is what earns STIR its motto, 'We Love It Here' You will too! For information, Email: , Call (340) 775-6320.

Star Junior World Championship Registration to the first ever Star Junior World Championship is now open on the official Star Class website. The Junior World Championship will be organized by the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association and will take place in Miami, at the Coral Reef Yacht Club, from February 3rd to the 6th 2019. It is open to any skipper who hasn't reached his or her 31st birthday before the first race of the event. The skipper will be able to find a crew without age limitations, in order to being able to match some less experienced skippers, even coming from a non-Star background, to a more skilled crew capable of introducing the younger sailors to Star racing.

The event will start on February the 3rd with team registration, weigh in, and inspection of boats. Following on Monday, February the 4th, to Wednesday the 5th two races per day are scheduled on Biscayne Bay.

Registration opened on November the 19th and several teams have already entered: the runner ups at the 2018 Eastern Hemisphere Championship in Trieste, Thomas Allart (NED) and Kilian Weise (GER), Danny Cayard (USA) who might sail with his father Paul Cayard as crew just like they did at the Star Worlds in Denmark in 2017, the Argentinian born Thomas Hornos (USA), and local sailor Zachary Hansman (USA).

The Star World Champion, Jorge Zarif, is trying to fit the event in his busy Olympic calendar and so are the Scottish - Italian born - Laser Olympic sailor Lorenzo Brando Chiavarino, and Argentinian Finn sailor Facundo Olezza.

Eligible boats must enter by completing the on-line application by January 10, 2019, at https://2019jrworlds.starchampionships.org , after this deadline it will still be possible to enter the first Star Junior World Championship but with a late fee.

Oisín van Gelderen is First Irish Sailor to Break 50-knot Speed Barrier National Windsurfing Champion Oisín van Gelderen of Dublin has become the first ever Irish sailor to break the 50-knot speed barrier, during his final week competing at the Luderitz World Speed Sailing Challenge in Namibia, Africa.

As Afloat.ie previously reported, Van Gelderen joined the fastest sailors in the world for the last three weeks in Luderitz, with the aim of increasing his Irish Sailing Speed record (measured over 500m), and trying to break the elusive 50-knot barrier. The Luderitz course (a canal dug in a lagoon at the edge of the desert) has been specially designed to take advantage of the gale to storm force winds common in this part of Africa.

Van Gelderen significantly improved his record, on his second day at the event, in winds gusting 90 kph (Beaufort Force 9 - Strong to Severe Gale). But it wasn't until this week that he reached his aim: he exceeded 50 knots, hit a high of 50.8knots (94kph), and set an official WSSRC ratified National record of 47.97 knots (88.85kph) over 500m.

National and World Sailing Speed Records are to be ratified by the WSSRC (World Sailing Speed Records Council), and are measured as an average speed over a 500m distance.

The role of the Sailing Office is to deliver the Club's Sailing Programme and all the supporting communication and administration.

The role is primarily office based at 60 Knightsbridge but also involves running events both in Cowes and at Queen Mary reservoir in West London. A certain amount of flexibility is required such as occasional weekend working and evening events/meetings (for which appropriate days in lieu are given).

The sailing office at Royal Thames is a busy small team and the role requires:

- Good oral and written communication skills - Ability to cope under pressure in a wide variety of situations both in the office and at events maintaining a friendly and effective demeanour. - Tolerance to different working styles within the office to ensure good teamwork. - Good creative skills to ensure the best communication to a wide diversity of members.eg creating the weekly newsletter to members. - Managing social functions that are sailing related - Keeping the website up to date. - A knowledge of sailing is desirable as is a willingness to learn more about the different disciplines within sailing such as fleet racing, team racing and cruising.

The role is varied and requires the ability to get involved in a wide variety of tasks where a friendly, constructive attitude to the members of the club are key.

Send CV to include current salary and covering email to .

Closing date 10thDecember.

Moose on the loose - Doyle Sails Volvo Ocean Race winner Mike Sanderson has been racking up the air miles (again) in his new role at the helm of Doyle Sails International

The back end of a busy northern hemisphere summer has seen Mike Sanderson, aka Moose, test-sailing in the Solent aboard Alex Thompson's IMOCA 60 Hugo Boss, competing at Porto Cervo in the Rolex Maxi 72 Worlds and jetting to Newport, Rhode Island for the commissioning of John 'Hap' Fauth's Maxi 72, Bella Mente.

As CEO of Doyle Sails International, Sanderson is revelling in the variety and challenge of working with major sailing programmes of this type. Also in the mix are America's Cup and round the world campaigns, as the successor to the Volvo Ocean Race continues to take shape.

Sanderson's CV includes two-time Volvo Ocean Race winner, four-time America's Cup competitor, bronze medallist in the solo transatlantic Open 60 class and ISAF World Sailor of the Year, enabling him to bring a wealth of expertise and knowledge to these programmes.

Murrays' Punt Wins The Hunt In Round One Of The Great British Sailing Challenge Ben Schooling might have won round one of the Selden SailJuice Winter Series last weekend, but the Musto Skiff sailor was beaten into first place in his division of the Great British Sailing Challenge (GBSC). In the Fast Asymmetrics, it was the father and son duo from Ullswater Yacht Club, Colin and Oly Murray who won the gold medal in their Norfolk Punt, relegating Schooling to second place overall.

While the Selden SailJuice Winter Series is scored conventionally using the Great Lakes Handicap numbers, taking your best results from all races and discarding your worst, the GBSC scoring is done completely differently. Devised by Simon Lovesey of SailRacer who was running the GPS tracking at the weekend, the scoring for the GBSC relies on Dynamic Handicapping. "Perhaps the best way of describing it is as a 'Flying Lap', where we take each boat's best single performance around the race course. Whereas normal PY handicapping such as the RYA or the Great Lakes is a measure of time on time, we're taking a measure of time on distance. And whereas conventional results are based on your performance across the weekend, we're taking your best performance in an individual race, a bit like your best lap when Formula One drivers are trying to qualify for pole position on the starting grid."

This perhaps explains why Schooling was able to dominate the weekend with an outstandingly consistent performance - with the exception of his discarded result - while the other Musto Skiffs were unable to match the winner's consistency. Andrew Stickland was 17th out of 111 boats, yet finished just one place behind Schooling in the Fast Asymmetric category of the GBSC scoring. His individual race performance was almost as good as Schooling's.

The next event in the Selden SailJuice Winter Series and the GBSC is the Datchet Flyer coming up on 8 & 9 December.

Jean-Luc Van Den Heede rounds Cape Horn Jean-Luc Van Den Heede led the Golden Globe Race fleet of solo sailors round Cape Horn at 19:16 UTC on Friday having extended his lead on all but 2nd placed Dutchman Mark Slats during a week when those trailing up to 8,500 miles behind all faced serious trials.

Both Australian Mark Sinclair and Russia's Igor Zaretskiy are now heading for ports in Australia to clean off barnacles and make repairs. Sinclair, who is also running perilously short of drinking water, is heading for Adelaide, his home City after being thwarted by sharks on two occasions during the past week from diving over to scrape the hull of his Lello 34, Coconut.

Zaretskiy reported yesterday that he had motored to check drag the hull of his Endurance 36 Esmeralda and determined that the barnacles are now reducing her speed by 2.5knots. He now intends to slip the yacht at the old whaling port of Albany on the South West corner of Australia. When they stop, both skippers will be relegated to the Chichester Class, leaving just 6 of the original 17 starters still competing for Golden Globe honours.

The lack of breeze that frustrated progress in mid fleet for much of last week has been replaced by 20-30knots winds from the South and West, but Estonian Uku Randmaa, Britain's Susie Goodall and American/Hungarian Istvan Kopar all face continuing problems.

In a special radio hook-up with members of the International Cape Horners Association attending their annual meeting in Portsmouth UK yesterday, Jean-Luc Van Den Heede reported that repairs to the damaged rig on his Rustler 36 Matmut were standing up well. "I am on course to pass west of the Falkland Islands and have winds on the beam. I am taking it easy with three reefs in the mainsail. If I was racing, I would only have two. I do not want to stress the mast any more than necessary and will have to nurse it all the way back to Les Sables d'Olonne."

The 73-year old Frenchman confirmed that this had been his 10th rounding of Cape Horn. "Six times the right way (west to east) and four times the wrong way (against the prevailing winds). "The last time was in 2014 when I was cruising in the area and we stopped to meet the lighthouse keepers. Conditions were good this time round and I was doing more than 8 knots when heading up through the Straits de la Maire."

Blue Pearl is the third Swan 70 and was delivered in 2003. Until 2006, the boat was stored ashore and unused while her original owners built a larger Swan yacht. Sold to her current owner in mid 2006, she was set up for a mutli-purpose program of competitive racing and comfortable cruising.

KATSU offers a huge amount of potential on the race track, whilst not overly-compromising on comfort below decks. Great successes under ORC and IRC, she is a potent weapon offshore and is a much more forgiving platform, that is far more manageable compared to the newest breed of flyers.

This thoroughbred sailing yacht continues to turn heads and offer only transom views. Q-Class yachts offer fun racing for a bunch of friends in boats that look gorgeous - at the dock or on the water - with performance that lives up to looks.